Friday, September 05, 2014

Book: Neil Gaiman's "The Ocean At The End Of The Lane"

This was a short one. At one hundred and eighty pages it was the shortest book I've read in years. This was my first book I've read by Neil Gaiman, a noted graphic novelist and writer. "The Ocean at the End of the Lane" is a novel intended for adults. Having said this, while reading this book, I had to double check that I hadn't checked out a young adult book.

The book follows the memories of a man who has returned to his childhood home where he remembers a harrowing time of magical creatures, magic, and life threatening danger. The book reads like a cross between a fantasy novel and a fairy tale. Gaiman weaves a magical tale hidden in a normal pastoral setting of the English countryside.

Gaiman captures the uncertainty of memory and the feelings of a young boy in his story telling. There is a sense of wonder wrapped around the calm acceptance of all the strangeness the seven year old boy is witness to. I enjoyed the way we wade into the strange world where a pond can be an ocean and shadows can devour you but I wanted for more. The book is too short. There is so much more that could be written but, in the end, it all remains a mystery. I guess that's what makes a good book ... leaving the reader wanting for more.